Design
interior design
hillman.co.uk
Designing and building
Call us on 01273 649687
your own home is a
project of such magnitude
it can be fraught with
untold pitfalls, yet the
spoils of a successful self
build or renovation can be
bountiful
As a child of the 1980’s I remember my
parents renovating their ro j e c t
t o d i s c u s s yo u r n e x t pown home as
well as renovating investment properties
in Brighton and Hove. As a boy I recall
visiting my dad onsite and marveling at
the work that was going on. The smell
of timber being cut, the discovery of a
bottomless well in a basement, ancient
wills found inside a chimney, being
able to see the open sky from the living
room as all the floors and roof had been
stripped away revealing a skeleton of a
house. To me renovating and building
always seemed like such a fantastic
adventure and so it’s true to say that I
definitely got the property bug from an
early age.
Fast forward a couple of decades and
a bit and I have recently found myself
completing my first self build.
Things really are so different these days,
we have a mind boggling choice when
it comes to products and materials;
with the internet we have a world
of knowledge and inspiration at our
finger tips. When it comes to design
opportunity we are spoiled rotten with
TV home shows, magazines and design
and build exhibitions. Our obsession with
DIY, decorating and property knows no
bounds. However unlike the eighties it
is now so much harder to find a plot of
land on which to build your dream home
or to find a tumble down property ripe for
development.
So when it comes to being creative I
managed to find my building plot atop of
an existing block of 1970’s flats, it really
is a case of thinking outside the box
these days. My plot was 150sqm and
so compared to the average UK home
being 85sqm it was an opportunity not to
be missed.
100
So the question is once you have your
plot where do you begin? Well as many
of us are DIY and property aficionados
these days, why not extend this to
designing our own homes as well? This
is exactly what I did.
I’m not saying you don’t need an
architect but you should have a clear
idea of what you want from your home
before you engage their services. Let’s
face it you wouldn’t give a hairdresser
carte blanche to cut your hair or a
decorator free rein to choose the colours
for your house.
Following these seven simple steps
should point you in the right direction
and get the creative juices flowing.
q GET OUT AND ABOUT
Start by exploring your local
neighbourhood looking at developments
that have already been approved,
this will give you an idea for what is
possible and how receptive the local
planning department will be to new
ideas. Approach neighbours who have
already tackled planning and get an
understanding of their experiences.
w GET SNAPPING AND
SCRAPPING
Take a camera with you at all times
and capture anything that fires your
imagination and photograph properties
you like inside and out and start pulling
together design ideas from magazines,
exhibitions, places you visit and the
internet.